From staff reports

CHAPEL HILL — A wellness study focusing on tobacco use cessation, healthy eating, increased physical activity and stress management is moving into a new phase by examining the issues in the workplace.

The research, by the nonprofit organization N.C. Prevention Partners, is being done with the N.C. Department of Transportation. N.C. Prevention Partners is dedicated to statewide chronic disease prevention, and its study is funded by a charitable donation from AstraZeneca.

“The next phase of this work brings in academic partners well known in applied research,” said Prevention Partners President and CEO Meg Molloy.

Laura Linnan, a national expert on worksite wellness, and Michael Bowling, an expert in public health statistics and evaluation design, from the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, are joining the study.

“They bring a level of scientific rigor that will benefit NCDOT and its employees, and will allow us to think about implications for employers throughout the state,” Linnan said.

“This study is unique in that NCPP will investigate the effects of health programs aimed at individuals, companywide wellness policies and the effect of both working together,” Linnan said. “Many organizations are looking at wellness as a solution to rising health care costs. However, few measure the impact of organizational and policy changes on employee health and behaviors, and thus, the worksite’s bottom line. This study will allow us to produce new knowledge needed in worksite health promotion.”

The research study expands NCDOT’s existing Highway to Health wellness program and offers its employees more and better opportunities to be healthy and prevent chronic disease.

“We are proud to be part of an initiative that will benefit the health of our employees,” said NCDOT Chief Operating Officer James Trogdon, “and that might serve as a model to other state agencies and organizations throughout North Carolina.”

N.C. Prevention Partners is a nonprofit organization that helps employers create healthier workplaces, reduce costs and increase use of preventive health insurance benefits.

Its focus is on nutrition, physical activity and quitting tobacco use to achieve the mission of “Prevention first for a healthier North Carolina.”